Medical Does this count as a downward GPA trend?

[MusicDOc124]

Hello! I hope everyone is doing as well as they can be, despite the circumstances.

I go to a school on the quarter system, and this Winter quarter, my grades have been significantly worse than before. I received an A- and B+ in two upper-division science classes. My freshman year was not ideal grades-wise, but since then my quarterly GPAs have ranged between a 3.93 to 4.0. Currently, my cumulative GPA is 3.87 and my sGPA is 3.80. Given that I will be applying this cycle, this will be the last set of grades on my transcript.

It may be worth noting that this quarter, I took my finals amidst the tipping point for COVID-19, and given that my family lives across the country from my college, I was experiencing a lot of anxiety regarding if and how I would get home, along with other concomitant worries. That being said, the entire world was experiencing the same thing, so I am not sure that this would be worth noting on my application.

Ultimately, I am wondering whether or not I should take a second gap year, given that I would have another set of grades to include on my transcript. I also was not planning on taking a science-heavy last quarter, and sticking to mostly liberal arts classes, given that I am done with all of my major requirements, but understand that this may need to change given the circumstances.

I would greatly appreciate any input! Thank you so much!

A SMALL dip at the last semester only with your lowest grade being a B+ during the changes occurring with COVID is NOT a downward trend. Especially with a GPA > 3.8.

I dont think that would be cause of a 2nd gap year.

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[Mr.Smile12]

You are correct… we're all in this together and everyone is coping differently with the circumstances.

We don't know what your MCAT scores are, so it's useless to recommend gap years or any major remediation until we know what experience hours you have accumulated and your final GPA's. You also need to become more informed of the admissions process.

If you experience a quarter GPA or two of < 3.0 GPA's, come back and let us know. Anything > 3.7 GPA on a term-by-term basis will be fine, and you don't need to overreact.

 

[Goro]

That's not a downward trend.

Perfection is the enemy of good. You don't need a 4.0 to get into med school, and Adcoms seek to weed out perfectionists.